Pallets



May 26, 1959 R. E.CONNELLY 2,888,221

PALLETS Filed Jan. 7, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ff 1 11 v I A w ,4,

i e; 10M -ze INVENTOR.

Robe/'1 formed/y BY I ATTORNE/Z May 26, 1959 R. E. CONNELLY PALLETS 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. '7, 1957 if g Robert 5. an??? ToRA/Ey UnitedStates Patent PALLETS Robert E. Connelly, Wynnewood, Pa.

Application January 7, 1957, Serial No. 632,831

2 Claims. (Cl. 248-120) My invention relates to improvements in loadsupport pallets, and more particularly to those pallets made from paperboard which are designed in the nature of a load bearing platform foruse with a fork lift truck.

It is a primary object of my invention to provide a pasteboard pallet oflight weight construction which will support a heavy load.

Another object of the invention is to provide a pallet which is strongand rigid and inexpensive to manufacture, to ship, and to use.

A further object of my invention is to provide a knockdown pallet whichcan be quickly and easily assembled.

Still a further object of my invention is to provide a pallet which canbe discarded after a single use.

Another object of my invention is to provide a pallet which can bestrengthened by the addition of at least one additional platform.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent duringthe course of the following description.

In the accompanying drawing, forming a part of this application, and inwhich like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout thesame Fig. l is a bottom view of the pallet;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the platform showing thecutout portion which forms the tabs;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line 33 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the top of the platformshowing a leg attached thereto;

Fig. 5 is an exploded view of a modified form of my invention showingtwo platforms and legs;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the platform showing a legattached thereto;

Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken on the line 77 of Fig. 6.

In the drawing wherein for the purpose of illustration is shown apreferred embodiment of my invention, the ntuneral 10 indicates thepallet generally which comprises a square platform 11 preferably made ofcorrugated paperboard and a plurality of legs 12. The legs 12 arepreferably made of a tubular paperboard construction and are equallyspaced on the underside of platform 11 so as to distribute the loadcarried on the upper surface of the platform 11 equally and therebyeliminate any stress or strain on any one particular portion of thepallet. The legs 12 are of a height sufiicient to permit a fork picktruck (not shown) to easily position its fork under the platform 11prior to moving said pallet.

The platform 11 is provided with a series of equally spaced cutoutportions generally indicated at 13 aligned with the legs 12. Said cutoutportions 13 are of substantially circular configuration and are formedby cutting a pair of opposed arc-shaped cuts as at 14 and 15 (atopposite ends of said cutout portions 13) and cutting a diagonal cut asat 16 from opposite ends of said arcshaped cuts 14 and 15 (see Fig. 2).The cutting of the platform at 14, 15 and 16 provides tabs 17 and 18.The tabs 17 and 18 are scored as at 19 and 20, respectively,

for apurpose to be explained hereinafter. The tabs .17 and 18 are thenfolde'din a .idownwarddirection on opposed andparallelfold linescomprising their bases 21 and 22 andare attached to the inner. surfaceof the leg 12 by any suitable means such as the staples .23. As will'bereadily seen in'Eig. :3, the tab 18.is approximately equal to theinnerdiameter of thelegs 12.

The score lines 19 and 20 which extend diagonally across the tabs 17 and18 enables said tabsto bend slightly inward so as to better conform tothe inner vsurface of the legs 12and therebyprovide a. strongerconnection.

In operation, the pallet is shipped in knock-down form. The cuts 14, 15and 16 are made prior to shipping thereby forming the tabs 17 and 18.These tabs are not bent, and the platforms remain flat and can beshipped and stored with a minimum of effort and space. The legs 12 areshipped pre-formed. When assembling the pallet, it is only necessary tobend down the tabs 17 and 18 as at 21 and 22 and place a leg 12 overeach series of tabs, securing the tabs to the legs in any suitablemanner such as by staple 23. The pallet is now ready for use.

If a stronger pallet is desired for a heavier job (see Figs. 5-7), it ismerely necessary to add a second platform 11a above and at right anglesto said first platform 11. The tabs 24 and 25 provided by platform 11::are, therefore, ofiset relative to tabs 17 and 18 and are then fastenedto the inner surface of the legs 12 between the tabs 17 and 18, and inthe same manner. Since the tabs 17 and 18 of platform 11 are on oppositesides of the cutout portions 13, and tabs 24 and 25 of platform 11a areidentically constructed, it will be readily seen that when the secondplatform, 11a, is placed on the first platform, 11, at right anglesthereto that each of said tabs 17, 18, 24 and 25 will be positionedagainst a portion of the inner surface of the leg 12 (see Fig. 6). Also,the corrugations of the platforms 11 and 11a will be running cross-wiseto each other. This feature gives the pallet even greater strength.

It is understood that the form of my invention herewith shown anddescribed is to be taken as a preferred example of the same, and thatvarious changes in the shape, size, and arrangement of parts may beresorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention,as hereinafter claimed.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A pallet comprising a platform of sheet material and a plurality ofspaced supporting legs below said platform, tabs of platform materialintegral with said plat form, said tabs being downwardly struck sectionsof platform stock defining a hole in said platform substantiallycomplementary to the interior of said leg, at least one tab extendinginto each leg with a space on at least one side thereof to accommodateat least another like tab, means securing at least one tab to its leg toconnect the latter to said platform, a second platform substantiallyidentical to said first mentioned platform, said second platform beingparallel with and overlying at right angles said first mentionedplatform, said second platform having tabs of platform material integralwith said second platform, said tabs being downwardly struck sections ofsaid second platform stock defining a hole in said second platformsubstantially complementary to the interior of said leg, at least onetab extending through the adjacent hole in said first platform and intoeach leg in offset relation to the corresponding tab of said firstplatform, said last named tab being received in one of said spaces andmeans securing said tabs of said second platform to said legs to anchorsaid second platform to said first platform.

2. A pallet comprising a platform of sheet material and a plurality ofspaced supporting legs below said platform, a plurality of pairs ofopposed tabs adjacent said supporting legs, said tabs being downwardlystruck sec- 2,sss,2a1

3 tions of platform stock defining a hole in said platform substantiallycomplementary to the interior of said leg, each tab being equal toapproximately one-half the area of the hole, each pair of tabs extendinginto its adjacent leg with space on either side thereof to accommodate asecond pair of tabs, means securing each pair of tabs to its leg toconnect the latter to said platform, a second platform substantiallyidentical to said first mentioned platform, said second platform beingparallel with and overlying at right angles said first mentionedplatform, said second platform having a plurality of pairs of opposeddownwardly depending integral tabs defining holes in said secondplatform substantially complementary to the interior of a leg, each tabbeing equal to approximately one-half the area of its hole, each pair oftabs of said 15 2 70 0 9 4 second platform extending through theadjacent holes in said first platform and into each leg in offsetrelation to the corresponding tabs of said first platform, and meanssecuring said tabs of said second platform to said legs to anchor saidsecond platform to said first platform.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS742,022 Hahn Oct. 20, 1903 1,931,458 Lang Oct. 17, 1933 2,507,588Brandon et al. May 16, 1950 2,594,287 Budd Apr. 29, 1952 2,691,499 WattsOct. 12, 1954 2,696,356 Baumann Dec. 7, 1954 Whalley Apr. 12, 1955

